Good Morning, Vietnam takes place in 1965 Vietnam, when the conflict there was still known as a “military police action,” and not yet considered a disastrous war. Fresh from service in Crete, Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer (Williams) arrives in Saigon to work as a DJ for the Armed Forces Radio Service there. Cronauer quickly makes a name for himself with his raucous rock ‘n’ roll, comedy infused broadcasts and his infectious catchphrase, “Goooooooood Morning Vietnaaaaam!”
While the real-life Cronauer was famous for being the first DJ to play rock ‘n roll, and did come up with the famous catchprase, he was nowhere near as manic as Robin Williams. Though written by Mitch Markowitz, director Barry Levinson allowed Williams to improvise most of his radio broadcasts. Cronauer himself has said “If I did half the things in that movie, I’d still be in Leavenworth right now.”
Predictably, there are plenty of people not thrilled by Cronauer’s on-air antics, most notably 2nd Lt. Steven Hauk (Bruno Kirby) a wanna-be comedian and strict, by-the-book Sergeant Major Dickerson (JT Walsh). Cronauer has his supporters in his assistant PFC Ed Garlick (Forest Whitaker), Sgt. Marty Dreiwitz (Robert Wuhl), and Brigadier General Taylor (Noble Willingham).
In a subplot, Cronauer falls for a beautiful Vietnamese girl named Trinh (Chintara Sukapatana). While she is adorable, her purpose is to serve as a bridge to get to her brother Tuan, played by Phan Duc To, who tries early on to protect his sister from the guy, Cronauer, whom he considers a phony. But as time go on, Tuan and Cronauer become best friends, leading to further trouble for Adrian.
Good Morning, Vietnam is at its best when Robin Williams is behind the microphone. The film falters when the story moves out of the studio and delves into Cronauer’s interest in Trinh and his teaching of ESL. Clearly, the filmmakers were trying to combine Williams’ improve abilities with a slight variation on M.A.S.H. that doesn’t quite work.
Presented in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, this 1080p transfer is a solid one. Compared to previous DVD releases, Colors are bright and details are strong. One issue I noticed was one particular scene where too much DNR has been applied to Williams face. Thankfully, this only occurred in one backlit scene, so it shouldn’t keep people from making the upgrade.
The audio track is an English DTS-HD MA 5.1, which does a nice job with the music and dialogue that drive the film. Everything is spread nicely across the soundfield, with bass giving it some nice punch. Dialogue is clear, but you might find yourself adjusting the volume when the music kicks in.
English SDH and French subtitles are provided.
The special features have been ported over from the previous special DVD release. All the features are in SD, unless otherwise noted:
First up is a six-chapter Production Diary that breaks down as follows:
- How the Movie Came to Be (6:21) Producer Larry Brezner, screenwriter Mitch Markowitz, director Barry Levinson, and the real Adrian Cronauer discuss the early drafts of the film, from the mixing of real life with Hollywood to fine-tuning the characters and selecting the actors.
- Actor Improv (9:49) Brezner, Levinson, Markowitz, producer Mark Johnson, and actors Robert Wuhl & Bruno Kirby discuss Williams’ largely off the cuff performance.
- Music of the Movie (6:00) Levinson, Brezner, Cronauer & Markowitz discuss the impact that rock & roll music had on the story.
- Origin of the ‘Good Morning Vietnam’ Sign-on (3:03) Adrian Cronauer explains the genesis of his now-famous signature introduction.
- Shooting in Thailand (7:39) Levinson, Johnson, Wuhl, Kirby, etc describe the challenges of shooting a period piece in 1987 Thailand.
- Overview of the Film a Year Later (1:37) The filmmakers comment on why their still fond of the film.
- Raw Monologues (12:00) Robin Williams talks into a microphone and comes up with some hilarious stuff, as only he can.
- Two theatrical trailers/teasers (HD).
